


Accidental Engagement

by fandomsandphan



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2018-09-15 18:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9251267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandphan/pseuds/fandomsandphan
Summary: Dan Howell x Reader: You were engaged, but that all changed when your fiancé met someone else: your sister. Now it's their wedding, and you're expected to go, but not without a date. When things go a little too far with your fake date/rival, what will you do to fix things? Or will you fall in love along the way?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello again it's Tori and welcome to my 3rd (I think) Danxreader! If you've read some of my other stories, welcome back! And if you have no idea who I am and you're in the zone of fanfiction, I feel your pain. But welcome anyway!
> 
> Oh remember, this is an AU, so Dan and Phil and the other characters aren't YouTubers unless I say something.

Prologue: 

Your POV:

Love. For some people, this word holds a connotation of complete happiness and bliss. And then there's me. I'm the opposite of that philosophy. I've never been the girl who was lucky in love, with most of my relationships ending in nasty fights or cheating. Now don't get me wrong, I love the idea of getting married, sharing your life with the one person you completely love and cherish, it was just never a reality for me. For my parents, it was completely different. They were high school sweethearts, and loved each other unconditionally. And from an extremely early age, my sister and I wanted to have a love like that. I think that's part of the reason why I became a wedding planner, too. That and I really love cake.

I was in love, once. Engaged, too. And I thought everything was wonderful and perfect. But that all changed when my fiancé met my sister.

Sean was everything. Handsome, nice, funny, and a complete gentleman. Sure our relationship wasn't perfect, but we were happy. At least I thought we were.

Flashback:

My friends had asked me to plan their wedding, and I was at the reception, checking on everything. I was fixing a centerpiece when I heard my name. 

"Y/N?" I turned around to reveal Dan Howell, a friend of my fiancé's. "I didn't know you were here."

"I'm the wedding planner actually," I said, smiling. 

He smiled back at me. "Wow I can't believe you planned all this. It's amazing!"

"Thank you," I said. "Well it's what I do."

"Is Sean here?" Dan asked, looking around. 

"Not right now," I admitted. "He had to do something for work but he said he would a little late." 

"Well I'm here now," another voice said. 

I turned around to see Sean, who gave me a hug and kissed my head. Dan smiled and they shook hands. 

Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see my sister Charlotte. "Hi!" she said excitedly. 

"Oh my god how was New York?" I asked. She had just been away for about a couple years studying at a fashion school in New York City and I haven't seen her in forever.

"It was amazing; there were so many interesting people and things to see!" she said. 

"Isn't it beautiful? I love New York City," Sean said warmly, smiling at her. 

"I felt a small pang of jealousy. "Charlotte, this is my fiancé Sean, Sean, this is my sister Charlotte."

Her smile faltered a little. "Oh. It's nice to meet you Sean. You're going to be family soon."

They both kinda stared at each other until Dan broke the silence. "Why don't you two sit down and talk for a couple minutes?" he said to them. "Y/N has to do some quick checking to make sure everything is running smoothly, and besides, you said it yourself: you're going to be family soon." He nodded at all of us and walked away, smiling slightly.

They both nodded slightly and walked over to an empty table. I kept staring at them. This was the exact opposite of what I wanted! I may be paranoid, but it looked like my sister and my fiancé were having some slightly erotic eye contact and I was going to have none of it. 

After checking all the centerpieces and making sure the food was all okay, I went to sit down over by Sean and Charlotte, but before I could, a waiter stopped me. 

"Miss L/N? We're having technical difficulties with the cake." I sighed and followed him into the kitchen, where the wedding topper was too large for the top tier of the cake, and now the entire cake was at risk of falling onto the floor. 

Thankfully, I had an idea. I quickly unlocked my phone and dialed my brother's number. "Phil? Yeah this is Y/N. Can you stop by my store and bring me the smaller wedding cake topper? The one I have for the Smith wedding is too big. "

"Sure little sis," Phil said brightly through the phone. "But on one condition."

"Yes I'll save you a piece of the cake," I said, exasperated. "Now hurry up Philip I don't have all the time in the world!"

He quickly hung up and ran over to my store to get the correct wedding topper and bring it to me. He left quickly, but not without reminding me to bring him cake.

Once the cake was cut and everyone got a piece (I boxed one up for Phil), I grabbed a slice and was walking around to make sure everything was still going smoothly when I saw something.

My fiancé and my sister, smiling at each other like it was their wedding. I immediately wanted to run away, but I couldn't leave my job.

A server walked by and I grabbed another piece of cake. I was going to need it.

~End of Flashback~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I will see you soon with another one. I'm sorry about all this backstory and the fact that Dan and Phil aren't really in it, but this story needs to be set up a little more than my other ones. They will be more in the next chapter.
> 
> See you soon,
> 
> ~Tori :-D


	2. Dreading the Thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello and welcome back! I have a couple things to say before we begin, so here we go! One, the character of Sean is not jacksepticeye, it is an OC and not someone from YouTube. (I don't really watch him anyway). Second, there is a time skip of about two years between this and the prologue, and the wedding you planned in the prologue was the last you saw Dan. (he was more of Sean's friend and well, that happened).   
> ~Tori

Your POV:

I kept it on the kitchen table, so I couldn't avoid it. But even though I did that, I went to great lengths to avoid going into the kitchen, which is something I never do. It became a ticking time bomb, and I knew it was going to go off, I just wanted to live in peace for a little more until my whole world exploded. 

What is it you ask? A wedding invitation.

To my sister and ex fiancé's wedding to be exact. 

Yeah, it's as bad as it sounds. Sean, who I thought was the love of my life, ended our relationship to date, and marry my sister, who had no problem being the homewrecker in all of this. Yeah, I guess I was still a tiny bit sore about the whole thing. 

So it's a safe bet to say that I didn't want to go. I think I would rather run a marathon than RSVP because I knew I would have to say yes. At least, if I didn't want to die via my mother. 

Someone knocked on my apartment door and I almost jumped for joy to go answer it because it would mean I didn't have to be alone with the letter (and break down and just respond).

I opened the door to reveal Phil, who was holding up two bags of my favorite fast food. "I got it today too," he said. "I figured you would want this."

"You know me so well," I said, taking the food from him. "But how do you know that I haven't eaten yet?"

"Y/N that invitation is probably in your kitchen right now," he said knowingly. "And you probably haven't eaten since you put it in there because then you would actually have to look at it."

"Okay that's just creepy Phil. How the bloody hell did you guess that?"

He gave me a patronizing look. "Come on Y/N, anyone could have guessed it. Sean was your fiancé, and he broke up with you to marry your sister, so I think anyone would be peeved."

"Thanks for opening up old wounds Philip," I said sarcastically. 

"Sorry," he said. "Why don't we just open up the food and watch some TV."

I nodded and he unpacked the food while I channel surfed. Eventually I decided on [show], just as Phil was walking over to the couch with two plates of food. 

After our plates were clean and the only thing left on the counter were the empty boxes, I walked over to the freezer and looked inside. "Hey Phil you want ice cream? I have chocolate, cookie dough, and [other flavour you like]."

"He walked over and peered inside. "Sure. Pass me the chocolate and cookie dough." I grabbed all three cartons and headed over to the table, where Phil had gotten the bowls and spoons out.

When we were scooping ice cream, he turned to me. "So who are you going to take as your date?"

I was so shocked I almost threw the spoon I was using at him. "Phil I haven't even responded to say if I was going or not!"

"But you know you have to," he said, smiling. "Mom would kill you if you didn't show up to Charlotte's wedding. After all, you are family. And going alone is just sad."

"A little judgemental are we?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "So who are you taking?"

He laughed. "Oh I'm going stag. And I was talking about you, you know? You can't just show up alone."

I nodded. "Yeah, then it'll just look like Char won. I need to find a date and a date fast."

"If you want, I could go with you," Phil offered. 

I shook my head firmly. "If there's one thing worse than showing up to your sister and ex fiancé's wedding by yourself, it's showing up with your brother."

"That may be true, but what guys do you know? And that will be the type to go to this with?"

I thought for a little while, then came up with nothing. "Ha I knew it!" Phil said.

He suddenly had an idea. "What about Kyle from your work?" (A/N: all the characters mentioned are OC's, not from anything).

"He's on holiday in America."

"Jordan?"

"Sick."

"Eric?"

"A thought but I think he's also on holiday."

"Wow you really need some more friends," Phil said. 

"Shut up," I said, shoving him.

By the time Phil left, we still had come up with nothing except for the fact that I had to go and I needed a date. Sighing, I thought to myself:

this is going to be tough, hopefully I can find a date and not look like a total loser.


	3. Rejected Propositions

Your POV: 

I paced around my store, muttering to myself and trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do about my date crisis. I could not think of anyone, and I was not going alone. I was so wrapped up in my own world and problems that I didn't even hear the wedding bells attached to my door jingle, signaling that I had a customer. It wasn't until I heard my name that I stopped thinking about all of it. 

"Y/N? Earth to Y/N?" I looked up to see Dan Howell looking at me, a face I haven't seen in two years since the wedding where my sister and fiancé were introduced. The wedding where Dan introduced them, to be exact. No, I wasn't mad. (note the sarcasm). 

"Hello Dan," I said, trying to be cold but cordial. "What is it that you need?" 

"My boss asked me to pick up a couple items for his wedding. I'm here for a cake topper and the place cards," he said. 

I walked over to my computer, looking at the weddings I had listed. "What's the groom's last name?"

"Deyes," he said.

I quickly located the folder he needed. "Bride is Sugg right?" I asked and he nodded. "Okay I just need to find the place cards and wedding topper around here because I have no idea where they are." 

"Hey you're going to Charlotte and Sean's wedding right?" Dan asked as I was looking around for the cake topper. 

I groaned. "I guess I have to or my mother will murder me, but I really don't want to go."

He nodded. "Yeah I know what you mean. Hey do you have a date to go with?" he asked. 

"Nope," I responded. "All my guy friends are either away or sick and there is no way I'm going to walk in with my brother, so I'll just go alone I guess. Hopefully no one will notice me sitting in the corner. " 

"Well I don't have a date either, maybe we could go together?" Dan asked hopefully. 

I looked up from the pile I was looking in. "Really? Do you understand that you caused all this? Why don't we just go our separate ways and try to forget." 

"Alright. It was worth a shot I guess," he said a little defeated. I finally found the place cards for all the guests, handed then to him, and he turned to leave. Once he left, I sat down and was working a little more when I realized he had left the topper for the wedding cake at the store. 

At first, I was just going to wait for him to come back and get the topper, but then I decided that maybe I was a little rash in my decision to reject him. After all, a date to the wedding is a date to the wedding and my current situation, beggars can't be choosers. I decided to head over to his work, give him the cake topper, and maybe see if his offer still stood about the date thing. 

After some light stalking and some indirect questions to Phil, I made my way over to the office building that Dan worked at during my lunch break. I stepped into the office building and the receptionist directed me where to go. 

After seemingly endless walks down drab office corridors, I finally found Dan's office. When I first met him I didn't peg him to be the type that worked in a place like this, but I guess when you are a very successful lawyer, you can't really work in a tiny place without people not taking you seriously. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door and waited. 

A muffled voice said "come in," so I gently pushed the door open and saw Dan sitting in a desk, typing away at a computer. 

"Y/N? Again?" he said, obviously surprised to see me. But then again, if I were in his situation, I would be surprised to see me too. 

"I -uh- you accidentally forgot the cake topper today when you were at the store," I said quietly. "I didn't know if you had realized it so I just wanted to drop it off so your boss didn't mad or anything." 

"Well thank you," he said, smiling a little. 

I turned to leave and then realized I had one last thing to ask Dan. "Hey Dan?" 

"Yes?" 

I sighed nervously. "Does your offer still stand about the wedding thing?" 

He smiled more. "Why, are you reconsidering?" 

"Well I was thinking that I was a little bit too harsh on you before and I really do need a date, so yes I am reconsidering." 

He got up from his desk and walked over to me. "Yes the offer is still on the table. Are you saying you'll take it?" 

"Only because I'm desperate," I said playfully. 

"Hey I can take desperate," he joked, and we both laughed a little. "I'll be at your house on the day of the wedding then. It's a date." 

"Hey you may be my date, but this is not a date. Desperation makes people do crazy things, okay?" I laughed before heading back to my shop. 

Well, this wedding will sure be interesting.


	4. Wedding Fever

Your POV: 

It was the dreaded day of the wedding and I sure as hell wasn't ready. I may have avoided total embarrassment by finding myself a date but I still have this feeling of worry inside of me about this whole thing. The only problem was that I couldn't figure out anything to wear.  Phil was helping me pick out a dress, but I think I was driving him crazy. 

"They both look great Y/N why are you so worried?" he asked after I couldn't decide between dresses for about the millionth time.

"I don't know," I said, looking at myself in the mirror.  

After ages of hemming and hawing, I finally decided to wear a nice red dress that I had bought for a wedding that never happened (which happens more than you think in the wedding planning business and you can't wear the same two dresses to every fancy event). It was the kind of dress that said "what was Sean thinking?" 

"Now that we have the dress issue solved, are you sure you don't want me as your date?" Phil asked.  "Going with your brother is not that bad." 

I shook my head and laughed.  "Thanks for the offer, but I have a date already," I told him. 

He looked dumbfounded, like he couldn't believe I had actually talked to someone other than him or my clients.  "Who is it?" 

"Dan Howell," I said confidently.  

"Wait like Dan Howell the guy who set Sean and Charlotte up?" 

"What?" I said, looking at his shocked face with a little bit of a smug look.

"You never fail to surprise me, Y/N L/N." he said, still shocked.

After he left I finished getting ready and waited around for Dan to arrive, and I wasn't waiting long.  Soon the doorbell rang and I pulled it open to reveal Dan, with his hair straightened and wearing a nice suit.

"Ready to go?" he asked, holding his arm out. 

"Yeah let's go get this over with." 

It was a nice ceremony.  The place was nice, but I would have rather not sat in the second row, almost right in front of the bride and groom.  I kept my cool, even when the officiator said "if anyone is to object to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace," and I felt literally every eye in the room staring at me.  I think the whole place let out a collective silent breath out when the officiator announced that Charlotte and Sean were now husband and wife.  

After the actual ceremony, when the bride and groom were saying hello to everyone as they filed out of the benches, I got kinda scared.  What was I going to say, and how fast could I run in the heels I was wearing.  When it was finally Dan and my turn to talk to Charlotte and Sean, I froze a little.  And as good or as bad as you saw it, Dan was right there next to me.  

"It was a wonderful ceremony," I said to them as I walked out.  Charlotte smiled tightly at me and we all knew it was awkward. Until Sean noticed who was standing next to me.  

"Are you two a couple?" he asked, referencing the fact that we were holding hands.  No, it wasn't romantic, I think he was either trying to make me feel better or make sure I didn't run away before the reception.  

Dan started to shake his head, but I stopped him by saying "Yeah he's my date tonight," which also shut Sean up.  I figured tell this little white lie now and then we would never say another thing because I never planned on seeing Charlotte and Sean ever again.  

"Oh how...nice," Charlotte said, obviously lost for words.

~Time Skip to the Reception~

I was sitting at the corner table, sulking through the entire party while everyone talked around me.  My table was me, Dan, Phil, and a couple of friends that we had grown up with.  They were all off somewhere having fun while I sipped my drink and picked at the fancy finger food the place had provided to hold us off until dinner.  I was peacefully sulking my way through this and aimlessly staring when I felt a tap on my shoulder.  I turned around to see Dan standing behind me and extending his arm.  

"We should dance Y/N," he said.  "You have to have some fun here." 

I reluctantly agreed and allowed myself to be dragged onto the dance floor and we began dancing. My vibrant red dress stuck  out among all the neutral browns, blacks, and the occasional blues as Dan and I swayed to the music.  A little bit into the song, Dan leaned close and whispered "pretend I said something funny." 

I started to giggle a little, not to make too much noise. "Come on, you can do better," Dan said, laughing himself. 

We both started laughing really hard, drawing the attention of the people dancing around us. After a couple more minutes, we had made our way to near where the bride and groom were dancing, still laughing a little. 

"So you two really are together," Sean said, looking a little surprised, like he didn't actually believe what I said. 

"Oh it's as serious as it gets," Dan said, pulling me towards him. "We're engaged." 

Oh no. My little white lie was about to get a whole lot more difficult.


	5. Only Slightly Corrupt Bargains

Your POV: 

After Dan ruined my life with the worst little white lie possible, we stayed for about an hour, dodging all the congratulatory responses and mild confusion from all the family and friends.  I didn't even see Phil for the rest of the night, so I couldn't even explain to him what was actually going on and now I bet he thinks I'm crazy.  Dan and I walked out to his car together and the minute we both shut the doors I blew up on him.  

"What were you thinking?" I screamed at him and he recoiled in slight fear.  

"I don't know!" he yelled back.  "But honestly I don't think I regret it!" 

"Well I sure as hell regret coming to this thing with you," I fired back at him.  

"Look Y/N, just listen to me.  In the church, I saw the looks you were getting.  They all screamed 'Poor unfortunate Y/N' and I guarantee half the people who came to that wedding only showed up because there was a chance of an epic boss battle sister cat fight! They all expected you two to throw down right in front of the officiator!" 

He did have a small point there, I thought to myself. I didn't know half the people at that wedding and I liked to think I knew most of my own family. 

"And after I said what I said about to Charlotte and Sean, everyone's expressions changed dramatically. They were smiling at you, and now you're not poor unfortunate Y/N, you're Y/N who got an even cuter fiancé than the last and then announced it in the last one's face at his own wedding and probably made him really jealous!" Dan said. 

"Thanks for apparently trying to help me Dan, but I think you've made the situation worse than I already have by telling Sean and Charlotte that white lie when we were walking out," I responded, softening my voice. "And now we're in this gigantic mess together and honestly I have no idea how we're going to get out of this." 

His face fell at my somber tone and nodded slightly. "I have an idea," he said brightly. "Why don't I just tell everyone tomorrow that it was all just a bad joke? That I had a little too much champagne during the cocktail hour and caught a case of wedding fever. And then we can just 'lose touch' and we don't ever have to speak of this instance again." 

I nodded. "That just might work," I told him. "Now if you don't mind I would very much like to get home because I'm really tired and secretly hoping that this is all just in my head or a bad dream that I'm going to wake up from." 

"Alright Y/N, let's go then." 

When we got to my apartment, I got out of the car and waved goodbye to Dan. He then quickly rolled down the window and said "I'm really sorry for what happened today Y/N and I promise to get you out of this, but if it's any solace whatsoever, I never thought Sean was good enough for you." 

Before I could respond, he quickly put up the window and drove off, leaving me to head back up to my room to wonder what the hell came next. 

I decided to check my phone for voice mails, because I had turned it off on the way home because I knew I was going to get tons of calls as people slowly found out the fake news that I was engaged to Dan Howell. I put my phone on speaker and let the voice mails play. The first one was no surprise, my mother. 

"Hello dear, oh it's absolutely wonderful that you're engaged now! I hope I will get to help you plan the wedding and that I can have you and Dan over for dinner sometime soon. And hopefully this also means that you and Charlotte can finally get over the grudges you have with each other because you both can finally be happy. Ok talk to you later, bye." 

The next was my brother. 

"Wow Y/N, you've sure taken keeping secrets to a whole new level. I'm still very confused about what happened today so hopefully tomorrow we can talk sibling to sibling, that is, if I'm even your actual brother and you're lying to me about that too." 

Oops. I guess I really should have told Phil was was going on then. The other messages were just friends congratulating me, but one message did stick out. It was from David Dobrik, a big time businessman and corporation owner. ( I know David is goofy irl but I needed a person and he just popped into my head) I knew he was friends with Dan, but I was very confused about why he was calling me. 

"Hello Y/N, my name is David Dobrik and I'm interested in having you plan my wedding because I just became engaged. I found out that you were engaged to one of the lawyers I use, Dan, and I knew that you must be the best in the business. I would like you to come to lunch with me sometime this week so please bring your ideas. Oh and bring your fiancé too. Hope to hear from you soon." 

I was in shock. A big time customer wants to use my services, I was so happy! I had one main competition in the wedding planning business, and that is [enemy's name]. This was going to really boost my business until I realized that he said "bring your fiancé." My stomach dropped and I knew that I would have to call Dan again to decide what to do. 

I called immediately, but he didn't pick up.   
"Hey Dan it's Y/N. Could you do me a favor? Don't tell anyone that we're not actually engaged. Just yet."


	6. Well, This Calls for a Toast

Your POV:

It was the day of the lunch with David and my stomach was turning constantly. Dan was coming over a little earlier to pick me up, and so we could discuss how to go about this whole charade. We were meeting at a small cafe for coffee and pastries and discussing the possibility of me planning David's wedding. I have no clue why he wanted me to bring Dan though. It just made my life more difficult than it had to be. I put on my most business like outfit, got my portfolio of my past work, and sat down to wait for Dan right when the doorbell rang.

In the car, I turned to Dan. "So how are we going to pull this whole thing off? This is just going to get worse and worse," I said.

"Don't worry about it Y/N," he said. " I got you into this mess, this is my way of getting you out of it."

I wasn't completely sold on this, though. "Alright Dan I'm trusting you on this. But just so it seems more believable, my favorite song is [F/S], my favorite movie is [F/M], and I always wanted to be a [career]. "

He nodded. "My favorite artist is Kanye West, my favorite movie is Titanic, and I had a really embarrassing emo phase when I was a teenager," he told me, which made me laugh.

We finally arrived at the cafe and I noticed David sitting at a small table in the corner, across from a small couch, ironically called a love seat. He noticed Dan and I and waved us over, Dan and him shaking hands. We both sat down after I greeted David and Dan put his arm on the back of the couch, around me. I tensed up a bit, but I guess this has to be believable, so I relaxed and smiled happily. 

If I had to act like I was hopelessly in love with Dan Howell for every minute of my life, this was going to be a long day for me. I mean, yeah he's cute, but he can also be extremely intense (must be from being a lawyer) because if you get into an argument with him, prepare to have random song lyrics and references thrown at you and he somehow is self deprecating and arrogant at the same time. Sometimes he also won't call or text back for weeks, letting everyone else think he's like dead or something.

After we got some food and chatted a little bit, David asked to see my portfolio, which I gave to him. He leafed through it thoughtfully, looking at all the pictures for a while, making me kind of nervous. After he finished looking at it, he turned to me and said, "Y/N you have a fabulous eye for taste and class and I would like you to plan my wedding for me."

I was so overjoyed that I started smiling so much and almost broke out crying. This was going to do wonders for my business, which was starting to struggle a little bit. (Sadly, lavish weddings aren't that common, most people go smaller.) Suddenly Dan wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek. "I'm so proud of you baby," he said happily. It was kind of scary how good at acting he was, I almost thought he meant it.

David was watching us with a smile on his face. "So what about you guys?" he asked me. "Are yo going to plan your own wedding or have someone do it for you?"

"Honestly David, I don't really know," I told him. "I think every bride has this picture in her head of what she wants her dream wedding to be like, and I want to be able to create my own dream, but at the same time there's so much stress on a bride already I don't want to add to that. And I haven't even thought about a date for the wedding yet, I want a longer engagement this way it's not as much stress."

He nodded. "That's completely understandable. I know Liza wanted to plan this wedding herself, but she started the process and everything was so stressful, so I finally convinced her to get a wedding planner," David said. "That's why I invited you here, I wanted to make sure you cared about your work, because I promised her the best in the business, and I think I found you just at the right time."

"She is really the very best," Dan said sincerely. "And that's what I love about her, she always puts her 100 percent into everything."

I smiled at Dan, he's putting on this whole charade really well, I hope I'm doing just as good.

~Small Skip~

After chatting a little bit more, we finally came to an agreement before parting ways. I was to plan his wedding, which they wanted to be at the end of September. But one thing stuck out to me that really troubled me about this.

"Alright, I'm looking forward to this already. And make sure that you both come to the wedding, it won't be the same without the person who made this all happen, and of course, her wonderful fiancé."

Wait what? Rewind there a little. I have to keep up this accidental engagement until their wedding?

And the spiral of lies pulled me in even more.

Well, I guess this calls for a toast?   
Just pour the champagne, I'm going to need it.


	7. Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won't

Your POV: 

When we walked out of the cafe and got into the car, I stared at Dan. "Do you know what this means?" I asked him, stressing out a bit. "We have to stay fake engaged until September! That's two months away! I don't know if I can do that!" I said, freaking out. 

Dan was silent for a few minutes before opening his mouth. "We can try to stay engaged for the whole time, but if we decide we can't do it, we can always stage a huge breakup and then just go on with our lives," he said thoughtfully. 

"That could work," I said. "We just have to stay engaged long enough so that they won't fire me if they find out that we're not engaged anymore." 

"Even if we "break up" before the wedding, I don't think that they'll just fire you immediately Y/N. I was just the bridge between you and David. He decided to hire you because he liked your portfolio, not because he thinks we're engaged," he said, trying to cheer me up a little. 

I calmed down just a little bit. "You're right. But even if we were to break it off, we can try to wait until I've met them and already started," I said and Dan nodded. "I must sound so stupid right now," I said sadly. "Putting you through all this trouble just so I could get some business, that must seem so selfish to you." 

"It really doesn't Y/N," he said sincerely. "And none of this is really your fault, so if anything, this is payback for all I did when I said that we were engaged at Charlotte and Shawn's wedding. 

He pulled out of the parking lot and we drove the rest of the way home in silence. I stared out the window and wondered what it would have been like if none of this had happened. I could be at home, watching TV with Phil and complaining about how Charlotte and Shawn's wedding had no class and I could have done so much better, but now I was trapped in this alternate reality where almost everything about my life has changed. I honestly had no idea how I was going to make it to September. 

He parked in front of my apartment building. "Thank you so much for all of this Dan," I said, getting out of the car. 

"No problem Y/N," he said. "It's the least I can do, and driving everywhere together makes more convincing. I'm sorry I got you into this mess in the first place."

"Don't worry about it. My life was a little boring before anyway." 

He drove off and I headed up to my apartment, grabbing the mail and setting my bag and portfolio down on the table before collapsing on my bed to take a nap. When I woke up two hours later, I meandered around my house and grabbing my phone, which was in my bag in the kitchen. I had two missed calls from my mother and one voicemail. Curious, I listened to it. 

"Hi honey it's your mother, I called twice and you didn't pick up, you better not be ignoring me," she said, laughing but I knew she was serious. "Anyway I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight with Dan, this was I can get to know him a little better as my future son in-law, because this was all such a surprise. If tonight isn't good for you, then you guys can come tomorrow as well," she said, implying that there was no way I could possibly get out of this. "Alright dear, please call me back when you get this, and I'll see you either tonight or tomorrow. Bye." 

I groaned and collapsed on my couch. I don't want to do this right now, but I have to get this over with somehow. I decided to call Dan and see if he would mind coming over and having dinner with my family. 

"Hello?" he answered the phone very professionally. 

"Hey Dan it's Y/N." I said.

"Oh hey Y/N what's up?" 

"Nothing much only that my mother wants to have dinner with us either tonight or tomorrow and there's no way that we can get out of it, my mother will actually murder me if we do," I told him, very quickly. 

Dan laughed, maybe to lighten the mood, I don't know, but this was no laughing matter. "Of course I'll go, and tonight is fine," he said. "Just find out from your mother what time and I'll come get you, okay?" 

"Alright Dan, thanks so much for doing this," I said. "I'll text you what time, okay?" 

After we hung up, I got a call from Phil, which I answered, a little confused. "Hello?" 

"Y/N are you coming tonight?" he asked, a little out of breath. 

"Yeah Phil, Dan and I are coming tonight. Why are you out of breath?" I asked. 

"I was just downstairs at mom's house because she somehow roped me into helping her clean, and I just heard her on the phone with Charlotte. It sounded like she was inviting Char and Shawn over tonight too," he said. "So I ran up the stairs to warn you." 

Phil and I were always closer than either of us had been to Charlotte, and even though he thought I was crazy for this whole engagement thing, I was glad he warned me. "Thank you so much for letting me know, Phil. Our mother makes meddling an art form. But I can't even not go because she would literally murder me. Just let her know that Dan and I will be there tonight at 6:30 pm for me, okay?" If I was going to have to deal with this, I was making my own time. 

"Alright Y/N, I've got to go, but I'll see you tonight okay?" 

"Alright Phil, I'll see you tonight." 

After hanging up I texted Dan to pick me up at 6:15 and that Charlotte and Shawn may be going, so just be prepared. He asked what I planned on doing about them. 

I would just go, I guess. And if Charlotte picked a fight, she better be prepared to have to fight of her life.


	8. Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?

Your POV: 

I was just finishing getting myself ready for tonight's dinner of doom when the doorbell rang, signaling that Dan had arrived. I quickly opened the door and let him in before returning to running around my house like the nervous wreck I am. 

"Don't worry about anything Y/N," Dan said, following me around. "I bet Charlotte and Shawn won't even show up because your mother said that the whole point of this dinner was so that she could get to know up as a couple and stuff because she never knew anything about me."

I turned around and faced him. "You don't know my mother, though," I told him. "She probably told Char and Shawn that she wanted to have them over after their honeymoon, and they probably have no idea that we were even invited as well." 

"Well let's not worry about that," he said. "We should leave soon, so just let me know when you're all ready to leave." 

After I finished my minor mental breakdown and we finally got to my mothers house, I stepped out of the car, waiting for Dan to catch up from the other side. He put his hand next to mine and laced our fingers together, starting to walk up the path to the front door. I rang the doorbell and waited for someone, but I guess nobody had heard. I knocked loudly and was about to ring the bell again when suddenly the door opened to reveal Phil, who quickly ushered us inside. 

Once we were in the foyer, he gave me a huge hug and shook Dan's hand. "Any news on the Charlotte situation yet?" I asked him. 

"I am almost positive mum said that she was coming, but I have no idea if she knows that you're coming," Phil said. "I'm glad you guys arrived first though." 

I was about to reply to him when my mother came from the hallway and spotted us. "Y/N sweetie, welcome!" she said, hugging me. "And Dan how lovely to see you again dear," she went over to hug Dan, which he was a little wary of. "Oh please Daniel, you're going to be family soon!" 

"Yeah and this family is full of huggers," Phil said. "I used to dread family gatherings because I had no idea who these people were yet they just would randomly hug me."

I laughed. "That is very true. I used to hear the doorbell ring and go hide in the bathroom or upstairs because I didn't want to greet any more people I didn't really know."

We headed into the lounge and sat down across from my father, who shook Dan's hand and welcomed us. We were sitting and chatting a little, Dan's arm around me as I leaned into him, when the doorbell rang again. 

"Oh I'll just go get that, I have no idea who that could be," my mother said quickly, walking out of the room. Phil and my father exchanged glances and shook their heads, while Dan and I pretended to not know anything, but we knew who was at the door. We all knew, and the only person happy about it was my mother. 

A couple minutes later, my mom walked in, smiling. "Look who was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by!" She said, seeming like she didn't plan this all along. One thing about my mother: she can't act if her life depended on it. 

And in walked Charlotte and Shawn. My sister and my ex-fiancé, smiling until they saw who was sitting on the couch across from my father. Us. Shawn made a move to turn around and leave, but Charlotte gripped his arm tightly, so she wouldn't have to do anything alone. They sat down on the couch next to my dad, And Phil got up and sat down next to me. Dan pulled me closer to him and Phil gave me a reassuring glance, both of them protecting me from the chaos that comes with my sister. 

Now don't get me wrong, Charlotte and Shawn are a very happy couple. They complete each other, and as much as I've started to come to terms with the fact that he will have a better life with her, I'm still very angry. 

Our mother walked in and looked at us all, completely silent and staring each other down almost as if daring the other to get up and leave. "You all need to work this out," she said sternly. "Because you are family. And that is something you can never escape, no matter how fast you try to run from it." She then left the room again. 

"Y/N I want you to forgive me!" Charlotte suddenly blurted out, and I was completely shocked. "I know I messed up, and I'm sorry. I want to be family again, can you forgive me?" she asked. 

"I'm not sure I am ready for that Charlotte," I said calmly, sitting up a little bit. "You have no idea how much you hurt me and I need more time to recover. That is all I have to say." 

We stared at each other for a little more before Charlotte and Shawn got up, looked at me sadly, and left the room. I could hear her say to my mother, "I told you this would never work," before leaving the house completely. 

After that little episode, none of us really made any major conversation until it was time for dinner. My mom had made [Favorite fancy Meal] and we were all enjoying it when my dad turned to Dan and asked, "So when did you and Y/N meet?" 

"We meet a few years ago, at a friend's party. Sadly, I'm not as close with that person anymore, but I would always go to every party I was invited to there, hoping to see more of Y/N," Dan said, smiling. 

"I remember you singing at the top of your lungs, you were terrible," I said, laughing at the funny memory. "You're the only person I know who can turn My Chemical Romance into a comedy show." 

We all laughed at that, and the conversation progressed. We were doing pretty well passing as a fake couple until my brother (who still had his doubts about literally everything) asked, "So what are some of Y/N's favorite things?" 

"I know her favorite song is [random song] (which actually isn't) and Phil noticed it too. 

"I thought it was [actual favorite song] but I could be mistaken," he said. "After all you're the ones who are engaged." 

He got my favorite movie wrong too, which I could have sworn I told him, but other than that we had a smoother night. When it was time to leave Phil pulled Dan aside and they spoke in low voices, worrying me a little. 

"I'm going to take you home instead of Dan," Phil said, coming over to me. "I feel like we haven't really seen each other in forever." Oh no. What was he up to? 

When we got in the car and drove off, Phil turned to me. "What is actually going on Y/N? Your dentist knows you better than that guy!" 

I guess I can't keep everything from Phil.


	9. Confessions

Previously: 

When we got in the car and drove off, Phil turned to me. "What is actually going on Y/N? Your dentist knows you better than that guy!"

I guess I can't keep everything from Phil.

Your POV: 

"Alright so you got me," I said, putting my hands up. "It's a fake engagement."

"Yeah I kind of figured that when he didn't know your favorite song or movie, and you only announce that you've been seeing him at Charlotte and Shawn's wedding when he says you guys are engaged," Phil said. "So why do you even bother keeping it up?" 

"Well we originally weren't even going to go on with the huge charade, but after Char's wedding I got a call from a big time customer who found out about me through the fact that Dan and I were engaged, and I told him to keep the charade up so that I could get the job," I told him. 

"So what are you going to do after the job is done?" Phil asked after a few moments of silence. 

"I guess we haven't really thought about that yet," I said. 

"Well you can't just 'lose touch' or anything, that's going to sound so fake and people are never going to believe that," Phil said. "You should have just come clean in the beginning, and now you wouldn't be in such a big pickle right now, I'm sure the customer would have understood, because didn't you plan Dan's boss's wedding too? Him thinking that you're engaged to Dan can't be the only reason he called you." 

I let out a huge sigh. "You're right Phil. I should have just said no, in the moment an maybe all this wouldn't have happened, you know. I feel bad for dragging Dan into this, he doesn't deserve to go through all this trouble." 

"Woah woah woah stop right there," Phil said. "Dragging Dan into this? Y/N he's the one who got you into this mess, if anything, he dragged you into it! And why are you so worried about Dan anyway?" 

I was silent for a little bit, I didn't know what to say. 

"Don't tell me you're starting to get feelings for this guy. He may be your fake fiancé Y/N, but he broke up your very real engagement." Phil shook his head and sighed. 

"I don't know what I feel Phil, but I don't think it's all Dan's fault. I was holding on to the thought of being this perfect bride, having this perfect life, that maybe I didn't realize that Shawn might not have been the perfect guy." 

"Wait I'm confused," Phil said. "You're so in love with this guy so much your hallucinating a reality where it's not all his fault when really this whole mess is in fact, his fault. And you're now telling me that you've come to terms with the fact that Shawn and you weren't perfect, so are you going to forgive Charlotte? You know, the sister you practically screamed at?" 

"Firstly, I am not 'in love' with Dan, Phil," I said. "And secondly, I'm probably going to end up forgiving Charlotte, but not right now! Mom tried to make us make up a little too soon in my opinion." 

"Well at least I agree with something," Phil said. "Our mother needs to learn how to not meddle in every other family member's business and let things happen naturally." 

We finally arrive back at my apartment building, and he pulled into the parking lot. "Thanks for driving me Phil." 

"It's no problem Y/N. And don't worry about me hating you, I was just very confused with everything that's been going on," he said. 

I finally got up to my apartment and was unlocking the door when I heard someone say my name. I turned around to see my neighbor, Brendon, who I was pretty good friends with, but he was out of town the week of Charlotte and Shawn's wedding, or I would have asked him to go with me. "Hey Brendon, what's up?" I asked. 

"Not much, I just wanted to ask you if you were any good at cooking. Because I have someone coming over in a few days for a dinner meeting and I really don't want to mess this up." Brendon was a musician and was in a band with his friends Dallon and Spencer. I've heard their music before and I really liked it, so this is probably a meeting with a record company about a new album. "So I was wondering if you could help me prepare some stuff that I could just put in the oven." 

"Yeah I'm pretty good at cooking, Brendon," I said. "When is the meeting, I'll see if I'm free the day before, and we can prepare some stuff." 

"It's on Thursday," he said, and I nodded. 

"I'm free Wednesday, so why don't you come in my apartment now so you can look at some recipes and then Wednesday we can go shopping for the ingredients and prepare the stuff on Wednesday." 

Brendon nodded and hugged me. "Thank you so much for this Y/N, you're a lifesaver. I have no idea what I would have done." 

We went and picked out some recipes that seemed easy enough for both of us, and when we finally finished, I got another hug from Brendon and a kiss on the cheek. "After all this, I have to take you out to lunch or something to thank you Y/N," he said. "You have no idea how thankful I am." 

He's cute, my brain said. But you're fake engaged, it also said. I mean, we're just friends, and the lunch would only be a thank you present, so this can't be that bad, can it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And more drama arises in this world. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter as much as I had fun writing it, I always love a little bit of a love triangle. As for the question that I posed last chapter, I have decided to forgive Charlotte slowly. Some people had like whole story ideas that were really good, but I had no idea how to work them into the story. Thanks to everyone for reading and I will see you in the next chapter!
> 
> ~Tori :-D


	10. What Happens When Two Idiots Attempt Cooking

Your POV:

I woke up Wednesday morning to hear my phone ring and sleepily answered it. "Hello?" I said, still groggy from sleep.

"Hey Y/N it's Brendon!" He sounded cheery, but then got more concerned. "Did I wake you? I'm so sorry!"

"No it's completely fine Brendon I needed to get up anyway, I can't sleep the day away today," I said, rubbing my eyes with the hand that wasn't holding my phone.

"I just wanted to make sure we were still okay for cooking today, but if you need to reschedule I can always figure something out," he said quickly.

"No Brendon don't worry about it," I responded. "What time do you want to go to the food store to get the ingredients?"

"How about 10:00?" He asked. I looked over at the clock and saw it read 8:47.

"Yeah that is perfect," I said. "And then do you want to cook at my place or yours?"

He paused for a minute, thinking. "You probably have more tools and stuff than I do, I really don't cook unless it's absolutely necessary," he said, laughing.

Once I hung up with Brendon I decided to get ready by throwing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that Brendon had given me that had his band's logo on it and finished getting ready by putting my hair into a ponytail (or doing nothing if you have hair that's too short for that) and sat down to watch some TV before 10 am. Since we literally lived next door to each other, we were going to take Brendon's car to and from the store because it would be pointless to go separately. 

I was sitting on the couch when I heard a knock on my door and I dragged myself off the couch to reveal Brendon, wearing a black T-shirt, jeans, and a snapback hat. "Ready to go?" he asked, smiling.

We got into his car and headed to the nearest supermarket. He had decided that he was going to make Chicken Parmesan for his meal, along with garlic bread, so we needed to get all the ingredients.

~Skip because grocery shopping is boring~

We spent ages in the store, arguing over which brand of sauce to get and what kind of bread would be best for garlic bread. Then we couldn't figure out what Brendon should serve for dessert, and finally decided on a simple cheesecake, after I called his idea to get a cake with "please produce our record" written on it stupid and desperate. Once we got back to my apartment, we laid everything out on a table to see what we had to do. "I don't even know where to start," Brendon said, laughing.

"Neither do I," I agreed.

We ended up eating lunch together and procrastinating by watching reruns of Doctor Who, which was on TV. (I just got into watching DW and it's so good omg. I kinda want a Dalek so I can have it wake me up for school by screaming "EXTERMINATE!")

Once we agreed that we needed to get started or we would never get off the couch, the first thing on the list was that we had to coat the chicken in breadcrumbs and fry it. I got out all the pans needed and started heating up the oil to fry the chicken while Brendon made the breadcrumb mixture for the chicken and starting to make them.

By accident, I knocked Brendon's hand and made him drop the piece of chicken he was holding into the flour, sending up a huge plume of powder in his face. He then shoved me back, and all hell broke loose. We're both extremely childish, so an ingredient food war broke out that soon had him chasing me through my house, covered in flour, while we both laughed like crazy. We were just in front of the door when I heard another knock, opening it to reveal Dan.

He took one look at the two of us, obviously confused about why there was a man in my apartment and why we were both covered in flour, breadcrumbs, and Brendon even had a little bit of egg in his hair from when I cracked an egg on the table and dumped it on him in revenge.

"Hey Dan, what do you need?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Oh I just had something to talk to you about but if you're busy, I can come back later," he said. "I was on my lunch hour and decided to stop by."

It was awkwardly silent for a little bit, until Brendon spoke. "I'm Brendon, Y/N's next door neighbor," he said. "She was helping me cook something for a big dinner I have. Normally I would shake your hand, but I'm slightly floured right now," he said, joking a little and Dan smiled, but it seemed forced.

"Dan, my neighbor Brendon, and Brendon, this is Dan, my fiancé," I said, introducing them. Did Brendon's face just frown a little, or was that just me?

Dan was glaring at Brendon a little, but he didn't seem to notice. I was about to ask Dan why he needed to talk to me when he got a phone call saying that he needed to be back at the office immediately, so he left as quick as he came.

Brendon and I finished making the food without other incident, and he gave me a hug when he walked out, despite the fact that we were both covered in flour and other ingredients. "So your fiancé seems nice," he said, smiling at me. "I better be invited to the wedding."

"I don't know," I joked. "Not if you're going to be that guy who gets drunk and ruins everything."

"I make no promises to that but if you would like live music, let me know. I am in a band after all."

Later, I was watching something on my phone when I got a call from Dan, probably to tell me what he was going to tell me before. "Hello?" I answered.

"Y/N you're free tomorrow right?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said, unsure of what this might entail.

"Good. Well it might not be good if you think about it but my parents want to meet you."

Oh no. Another dinner as a fake couple, another lie to the rest of our family. How far was I going to have to take this charade?


	11. Fake Flowers for a Fake Engagement

Your POV: 

Today was the day that I was meeting with David's fiancee to figure out what she wanted for her wedding. David had told me she already had a bunch of ideas, which is going to be so much easier than when I have people come into the store with absolutely no idea of what they want.  I was just putting out all the pictures of different options when the little bell rang and a woman with dark skin and brown hair walked in.  

"Are you Y/N?" she asked.  

I nodded and walked over. "Yeah that's me. Are you Liza?" 

She nodded, and after she spent a little time looking through the store, we sat down to talk about what she wanted for her wedding. 

"I want something that's not too glittery, but not too simple either," she said. "But when I started looking myself, I couldn't find anything that fit that criteria that really stood out to me, so when I was talking to David he mentioned you and that he saw some of your work, so I wanted to see if you had any ideas." 

"I know what you want, but it's not that easy to find on your own," I said. "There's so much glitz and sparkle in this business that I completely understand you not wanting to be too crazy." 

We talked about her dress and the amount of people that were going to be at the wedding, along with a few venues that she was looking at.  She was getting married at the end of September, so we decided to create a theme of darker colors, since her bridesmaid dresses were a deep purple.  

After we finished and were packing up, she noticed the jewelry I had on, and in particular, a sapphire ring I had on my right hand.  Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the left hand, so this ring was just a regular piece of jewelry. 

"Is that your engagement ring?" she asked.  "David had said you were engaged to one of his lawyers." 

I had no idea what to say. What was I going to tell her? Oh I actually don't have an engagement ring because my engagement and entire life is now a lie? 

But I didn't say that. I shook my head and said "No the ring that I had gotten was too big, so it's at the jeweler's right now getting resized," I said quickly. 

After she left, I realized that if we were going to keep this charade up, I needed a ring. It didn't have to be real, I couldn't just go get a piece of costume jewelry, but I definitely needed a ring. 

That night after work, I was getting ready to go meet Dan's family and I had no clue what to expect. He had said that his father is a lawyer like Dan, and that his mother was very laid back, but I had no idea if they would like me or not.  I decided to wear a simple black dress with sandals and hope that I wasn't overdressed or under dressed.  The doorbell rang as I was putting in an earring, and a quickly opened it to reveal Brendon, dressed in a nice suit. 

"Oh hey Brendon," I said. "What do you need?" 

"I just wanted to know if you knew how to tie a tie because I have the meeting in like an hour and I have no clue how to tie this," he said, holding up a tie. "And neither do my band mates, but they got their girlfriends to tie it for them before they left."

Thanks to Phil never tying his ties right, I did actually know how to tie a tie, so I quick tied it on Brendon, and he thanked me before I went inside to finish getting ready. Not soon after, the doorbell rang again, and this time when I opened the door, Dan was stood on the doorstep, wearing khakis and a dress shirt, holding a jacket.  

"Hey Dan come on in," I told him, ushering him into the house and closing the door. "Am I too overdressed for this?" I asked. 

"No this is perfect," he said. "It's just at my parent's house so its not like we're going anywhere extremely fancy." 

"I know but I kinda feel worried," I admitted. "My parents seemed to buy the act, but only because they saw us at the wedding, but what if your parents don't believe us? Then what happens?" 

"Everything is going to be fine don't worry. There is going to be no problems this time, and my parents are going to love you. They're going to be mad at me when I tell them that we broke up after this charade is over," he said, standing up.  

"Alright, " I said. "Then let's go." 

Dan was following me out the door when he tapped my shoulder. "I think you forgot one earring Y/N." 

My hands flew to my ears and I realized he was right. When Brendon rang my doorbell, I must have forgot to put the other one in.  I quick fixed the issue and we headed out the door.  I realized I only had my sapphire ring from this afternoon, so I transferred it to my left hand and hoped that it would work. 

~Skip through the dinner~ 

We got in the car after the dinner, feeling a little better. It had gone well, with no major screw ups, but I knew that I had to get a ring, because that's the first thing that Dan's mom asked to see. She was sad when I told her the story about it needing to be resized, but understood and liked the fact that I had another ring in its place.

"Dan," I said tentatively. "We have to do something about the ring. People keep asking for it, and I had no idea what to say except that it was at the jewelers. Should I go and get some costume jewelry or something?" 

He nodded. "We definitely need to do something about the ring, but I already thought of that. Check the glove compartment," he said, almost grinning. 

I opened the compartment and found a small purple box.  Inside was a beautiful ring, that looked so real. 

"It was my grandmothers," he said. So it was real. "My father had given it to me ages ago, I don't even think he remembers, but he told me to use it well. Try it on, see if it fits." 

I slipped the ring on my finger, and guess what?

It was a perfect fit.


	12. Church Bells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone I am so sorry that I took forever to update but I realized I had never added the newest chapter from when I had written it ages ago so when I went to update one chapter, I had to add this one as well. So sorry for the long wait!

Your POV: 

It was the day before Liza and David's wedding and I had just finished getting all the last minute things together for the venue and was just about to head over to drop some things off when my phone rang. I quickly answered it in a flourish. 

"L/N Wedding and Design, Y/N speaking." 

"Do you not even look at your caller ID anymore?" Phil's voice came through the phone. 

"I do Phil, I'm sorry, I'm just in such a rush right now because I have a wedding in two days and I'm freaking out because the centerpieces for the wedding might not arrive on time and that means that I would have to use the ones from the back room but I don't know if I have enough for all the tables," I said hurriedly, before Phil interrupted my rant. 

"It's okay Y/N. Everything will turn out just fine and I know it. You have been doing this for years and I know that this wedding is going to be fantastic." 

"Thanks Phil," I said. "So why did you interrupt my very important work day?" I asked jokingly. 

"I was going to ask you what you and Dan were going to do about the lie that's slowly ruining your lives and sanity," he snidely responded. "Because you had told me that you were going to figure it out after the wedding, and now it's here so you have to have a plan." 

I sighed. "I don't know Phil. We haven't even talked about what's going to happen and I don't know how to bring it up to him."

"It's not even like you guys are actually together Y/N," Phil said. "Just tell him that you can't keep dancing around this thing and that it has to be done." 

"That's true Phil. I still don't know though because isn't it a little weird that we just got a fake engagement ring and now we're going to end it?" 

"You're original plan was to end it Y/N! I think you keep forgetting you're not actually engaged-wait you have a ring?" Phil said. 

"Yeah he found his grandmother's ring that his dad had given to him ages ago, so he gave it to me this way no on keeps questioning why I didn't have an engagement ring," I told Phil. 

"I can't order you around because this isn't my fake engagement, but you have to get this figured out, okay? This can't keep going on forever, as much as I think you'd like it to." 

"I will deal with this Phil, okay?" 

"That's all I'm saying." 

Two days later, I was just finishing up my hair andmakeup to get ready for Liza and David's wedding when my doorbell rang. I opened it to reveal Dan, wearing a suit and holding the wedding gift for David and Liza. I quickly followed him to the car, checking to make sure I was wearing my fake ring before leaving. 

We separated because Dan was going to grab seats for us, but being the wedding planner, I just went and checked to make sure everything was still in order. I had just hung up with the florist when my phone rang again. It was the manager of the reception venue, just confirming that they had successfully received the centerpieces and I would not have to send someone to my store to grab the backup ones I had, which was a huge relief. 

After I hung up with him, I went to go check on the bride and groom, just quickly poking my head in and getting an okay from everybody. I headed back to my seat in the church and sat down next to Dan, where we just chatted for a little bit until the ceremony began. I don't know if he realized it or not, but when Liza walked down the aisle, he grabbed my hand and held it tight.

(Time skip: they said "I do" big deal now let's party)

I was so happy with how everything turned out. Aside from the centerpiece issues, this went so smoothly and I was happy to let everything go and just dance. I didn't even think about what Dan and I were faking when we acted like a happily engaged couple around all their friends and family. I felt almost at ease even when I did remember what was actually going on because I wasn't doing this alone (Dan was stuck in this too) but that lasted for barely a second. At the back of my head Phil's advice from a couple days ago kept sticking in my thoughts. We had said that "drifting apart" wouldn't be believable, but I don't think I realized that we would actually have to come up with a plan that could manage to convince everyone that we've lied to about this. 

I was solemn for the rest of the night, barely eating my cake, and it was only when I got into the car to go home that I had an idea for something that could even possibly fix my dilemma, but even that still wasn't perfect. 

I was just getting ready for bed when my phone vibrated, alerting me that I had a new text message. Kind of hoping it was Dan, I looked at the screen. 

Phil: You saved me some cake right? 

Y/N: Of course you dolt

Phil: Thanks sis! and don't think I don't know that you still haven't said anything to Dan. I know you Y/N

Y/N: You got me, but I had an idea that just needs a little more thought okay?

Phil: Okayyyyyy   
Good night Y/N

Y/N: Good night bro

~~

Everything was going to be okay, wasn't it?


	13. Forgiveness, I Guess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone so we kind of have a problem because it's been so long since I updated this that in that time Liza Koshy and David Dobrik broke up. So we can do one of two things: I can go back and edit the story to fit another famous couple, or we can leave it as is because honestly at this point the story is wrapping up and they don't have pivotal roles anymore. Just let me know what you guys want me to do about that.
> 
> Hope you like the chapter and I'll see you in the next one. 
> 
> ~Tori

Your POV: 

It was a couple days after the wedding and I was still so tired. Don't get me wrong, I love my job as a wedding planner, but after such huge scale weddings like this I need a few days to recuperate. And there was also the added fact that this wedding held a lot on the line for me, and the fact that now it was over, I had to figure out how to gracefully exit the fake engagement that I had so stupidly gotten myself into. At this point, the best course of action would be to say it ended with a huge fight, but at the same time, was that too cliche? 

Oh whatever, this whole situation is practically a terrible romance movie. 

My life was still swirling around me as I was being dragged along. I know that at some point in time I wanted to forgive Charlotte, because as much as I was angry that she broke up my first and very real engagement, I always believed love had its own set of rules and worked in mysterious ways, and maybe Shawn and I just weren't meant to be. Sometimes it still stings, though. 

By now I had enough of Phil pestering me to actually take control of my life and sort out the elephant in the room: the fact that the ring I wore on my left hand, albeit beautiful, was a testament to the biggest lie I had ever told. Then I had a bit of an idea. If I were to finally confront my feeling to Charlotte and forgive her, I can see that I really don't need a ring on my finger to be happy and I can put this whole crazy time behind me. 

Plus, my mother would finally be able to have family dinner without having to scheme and lie to everyone, which my father has specifically told us he's getting tired of. So I dialed Charlotte's number, and waited through the incessant ringing noise, a part of me hoping to god she doesn't pick up. But alas, the universe was not so kind to me today. 

"Hello?" her voice came through. 

"Hi Charlotte," I said softly. "I want to talk to you, do you have time?" 

"Y/N?" she said, almost in disbelief. "Of course, I'd always make time for you. However, I want to see you in person, can you meet me at the cafe we would always go to as teenagers?" 

I nodded, then remembered she couldn't see me. "Yeah, how about in an hour?" 

"That's perfect. I'll see you then," she said. Right as I was about to say goodbye, she spoke again. "Y/N, I miss you and I hope after this we can be family again." 

"Charlotte..." I said, pausing, and then after what felt like ages I spoke again. "I miss you too." 

***

I pulled up to the cafe a bit early, parked and just sat there for a good 5 minutes, wondering if what I was about to do was really needed. But I soon saw Charlotte make her way over to a corner table, and I knew that this would be good for both of us. 

When I entered and made my way over to where she was, she gasped and opened her arms for a hug. I moved a little closer and let her wrap her arms around me. After we sat down, she spoke. "Y/N I just wanted to say how sorry I am for everything that has happened between us. It was wrong of me to start dating Shawn so soon after you and him broke it off. I truly miss you as my sister, Y/N." 

And in that moment, every piece of contempt I had towards her disappeared. "I forgive you Charlotte. It was not your fault that you fell in love, I guess I was still blinded by the hurt I was feeling for Shawn that I took it out on you." 

We talked for a little while after that, just catching up, and then soon after the conversation turned to Dan. But this was a little different because everything that came out of my mouth about him, rather than being fake "gushing" to sell the image of an engaged couple, but I found it true. I didn't have to think once of anything else to say once I started, because everything just flowed naturally. 

"Wow," Charlotte said at one point. "He really is the one for you, isn't he?" 

"Yes he is." 

I said that not only because of the lies we have weaved around ourselves, but because in that moment, I realized that I did love Dan, and I just couldn't explain it. 

Time Skip and Charlotte's POV: 

I opened the door of my house and heard Shawn making dinner in the kitchen. I hadn't told him where I had gone before, and he was probably wondering where I was. I greeted him with a hug and told him of the progress I had made today with Y/N. How she was slowly healing with her and how much she seemed happier because of Dan. And then Shawn had an idea. 

"Why don't we throw them a surprise engagement party? Everything had happened so fast that they never got one." 

I immediately nodded and began planning everything, texting Y/N to see when she and Dan were free, lying a bit and saying that she wanted to take them both out for a nice dinner/double date. Once we worked out a date and time. I got to work planning everything else. 

She deserves to be happy. And I could see that Dan truly made her happy.


End file.
